Middle School Proposed In L. Macungie East Penn Panel Also Recommends Adding Wing At Emmaus High School

January 24, 1992|by DENISE REAMAN, The Morning Call

An East Penn School Board committee last night recommended the district build a new middle school in Lower Macungie Township and add a multi-level wing at Emmaus High School.

The three members of Facilities Committee will pass the concept to the full board for a vote. Chairman Tim Romig said the committee was charged to develop a building plan as soon as possible. This was the committee's first meeting.

FOR THE RECORD - (Published Tuesday, January 28, 1992) Tim Romig, chairman of the Facilities Committee of the East Penn School Board, was quoted incorrectly in Friday's paper. "That's as close as you're going to get to a referendum in Pennsylvania," he said, referring to November's election as an indication that East Penn residents support a middle school plan.

Romig said November's election was an indication of what the majority of East Penn residents want. Romig ran on a platform for a middle school concept along with four other candidates. Only one of those candidates, a write-in, lost.

Romig said he and the other winning candidates who campaigned for a middle school won 13 out of 16 voting precincts. "That's as close at you're going to get as a referendum in Pennsylvania," he said.

To do an about-face, he said, would be irresponsible to the community and the charge the new directors took.

The middle school plan is "fiscally responsible and addresses the district's needs," he said. The plan would eliminate 90 percent of the portable classrooms and free up classroom space throughout the district by shifting grades.

A building plan is one area where the district has direct control of spending since 72 percent of East Penn's budget covers salaries and benefits. Also, the district must follow state and federal mandates which are coming down the line, he said.

Last year the Blue Ribbon Task Force recommended the district immediately construct a new high school, build a new elementary and convert the high school into a junior high school to solve space problems. However, the board waited to take action on the plan because the election was approaching.

Romig, who did not state how much the plan would cost, said the concept could be revised as it is more formally reviewed.

"It seems to fulfill most of the needs that have been brought out in the open," said committee member Robert Hamill, who supported Romig's recommendation along with Andrew Geissinger.

Hamill said the plan could be implemented more quickly than any other plan, except for piecemealing.

The plan is to build a middle school for grades 6-8 on a 28-acre Lower Macungie parcel which the district condemned several years ago. A multi-story wing would be built at the high school and the 400 wing -- which is made up of portables -- would be removed.

The grade levels at Eyer Junior High school would change from 7-9 to 6-8. All ninth grade students would attend the high school. Emmaus Junior High would become part of the high school.

Romig said the proposal would supersede any prior board action which conflicts with the plan.

Frank Romano, interim superintendent, said he would like to meet with the administration to review the proposal. Romano suggested Emmaus Junior High School be used for more than ninth grade, which Romig had suggested, because it may not be "educationally or socially sound to have it a one-grade school."

Director Ruth Dex said Romig's concept is very similar to two Blue Ribbon Task Force recommendations and should be compared. She said knows the public wants the board to be fiscally responsible. However, she said, "We don't have costs for any of this."

Dex said the district has an additional piece of the land -- the Shiffert Estate along Lower Macungie Road -- that should also be considered for a building.

Romig said he would prefer an architect to review the Sauerkraut site first and take action from there. The district, he said, would also have to look for an architect.

Director Gus Martin said the district has had enough studies on building plans.

"If anybody in this district doesn't know the issues, they have been sleeping for a number of years," said Martin. "I think we need to move ahead."